Wash. House restricts 2 flame retardants

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington state House has approved a measure that would ban two chemical flame retardants from sofas and children’s products such as strollers and changing pads.

Rep. Kevin Van De Wege said this bill would get harmful flame retardants out of the environment and ensures their replacements are also not harmful. He is a firefighter and said he’s also concern about the potential harm to firefighters when the chemical is burned and inhaled.

The proposed law passed Wednesday by 72-25 and now goes to the Senate.

House Bill 1294 is similar to one that advanced out of the House during the 2013 legislative session. The Senate last year approved a scaled-down version of that bill that did not include banning the two retardants from sofas and other household products.